Two major South Korean studios are strengthening cooperation with local players to grab a foothold in the world’s second-largest movie market.

Last month, China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corp. and Korea’s Showbox/Mediaplex Inc. released the $20 million, 3-D movie “Mr. Go,” about a gorilla from a Chinese circus who becomes a baseball superstar in Korea’s major leagues.

In June, South Korea’s CJ E&M Corp. struck a deal with state-run China Film Group and Pegasus & Taihe Entertainment International Co., a private Chinese company, to produce a sci-fi fantasy project called “The Fist,” featuring Chinese and Korean actors. In April, it also signed with the two companies to produce a 3-D Chinese historical epic, along with “Avatar” director-producer James Cameron. Read More »